


The Astronaut and the Lepidopterist

by thatsoccercoach



Series: Which Door? [49]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Family Fluff, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 00:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14532489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsoccercoach/pseuds/thatsoccercoach
Summary: Faith has a school project requiring her to find out what her family members wanted to be when they grew up.





	The Astronaut and the Lepidopterist

                                                                        [](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/470344754828176367/)

“Murtagh?” a small yet serious voice came over the phone line from Claire’s cell number. “Can I talk with you?”

“Aye. _Faith?_ ” he inquired a bit cautiously. Faith and Brianna both talked with him on the phone occasionally and once they were into a conversation it was easy to tell who was who. At the beginning, without an introduction, it wasn’t as simple.

“Yes! How did you know?” she asked delightedly.

“Weel, I thought to myself, ‘who’d be askin’ some serious questions?’ and I thought that might be my wise, wee Faith.” It was true. Bree asked questions but they were typically about how things worked. Faith asked questions about their family, about why people made the choices they did, and about how to change things. Or change the world. “Lass? Would ye rather do that wee video chat thing? The Skype or the Facetime, aye?

“That’s even better! Let’s do that!” she enthused. Murtagh lost contact with her but soon spotted on his screen an indication that he was on the right track and would soon see her little face on the screen of the infernal technological contraption in front of him. It was good that Faith could manage setting it up.

“I have us all sorted, Murtagh,” she explained to him as she came into view. “And I have a school project,” she stated simply.

“A project? What sort of project do they give kids of five years?” he asked, mostly to himself, but aloud nonetheless. “Ye canna even write proper-like yet, aye?

“I write the words I know and then I draw pictures for the rest. It’s called guess-n-go spelling. It’s a real thing for kids, Murtagh.”

“Oh, aye? I didna ken about such a thing,” he shook his head. Was there really such a thing? What did bairns learn in school these days?

“My project is about growing up. I am supposed to ask people in my family about when they were children and about what they wanted to be when they grew up.”

“Oh, aye?” He repeated. Faith would handle the project nicely. She’d probably be top of her class, he thought. “Have ye asked any other family yet?”

“Yes, I sure have!” she told him. The image in front of him tilted dramatically and Faith disappeared from the frame. Paper rustled in the background before she popped back into place, curls springing loose. “Da wanted to be on Scotland’s rugby team. Did you know that?”

Murtagh laughed out loud. He remembered many a time when Jamie had broken things as he practiced, that was certain. “I _do_ remember that, lass! Yer da was talented but he spent enough time gettin’ into trouble that he wasna able to practice as much as he’d have liked.”

Many was the time that Ellen and Brian had taken away Jamie’s rugby equipment as a punishment for some mischief or other that he’d gotten into. It still never seemed to deter the lad!

“What else have ye found in yer studies?”

“Well, Mama wanted to be a librarian, Uncle Ian wanted to be a farmer, and Auntie Jenny wanted to be a queen,” she listed.

Murtagh watched her roll her eyes when she mentioned her auntie’s royal aspirations. It was true though, Jenny had gone through a lengthy phase, determined to somehow become queen.

“Do ye ken what ye want to be someday, Faith?” His godson’s daughter had always been an otherworldly mix of dreamer and realist. It was almost as if she willed things into being and he was genuinely curious to see what her desire was now and where the future led her.

“Oh yes. I’m to be a lepidopterist when I’m grown,” she said sounding terribly like her mother. Very English. Looking like Claire as well.

That was what prompted the next question which was intended to be under his breath, but was heard by Faith anyway. “That’ll be some English nonsense, then?”

“It’s not English,” she sighed patiently, as if explaining to Willa or Fergus.

 _A dhia_ , he could picture Claire in his mind rolling her eyes in the exact same way Faith did in that moment. They both, when they thought something was utterly ridiculous but they weren’t going to mention it, would roll their eyes heavenward.

“It’s _Greek_. Most words are Latin or Greek. _Everyone_ should know that.” She exhaled slowly then went on. “A lepidopterist is someone who studies butterflies.”

“Is it then?” he asked, genuinely surprised. But if Faith did one thing well, it was listen. If Jamie or his wife had ever even mentioned a lepidopterist offhandedly, Faith would have remembered.

“Of course. Murtagh,” she stared at him through the screen. “You’re not staying focused.”

She shot a glare at him and he actually _almost_ felt ashamed. Primarily he felt amused. The lass was determined and that was a good trait. She’d go far.

“So, I need to know, when you were young what is it that you wanted to be?” Her eyebrows raised like small question marks.

“Oh, weel, I wanted to be an astronaut. It seemed adventurous and there was competition involved seeing who could get a rocket launched to which spot and all that,” he smiled at the memories.

“ _Oh_.” There was an awkward pause in the conversation.

“What is it lass?”

“Bree wants to be an astronaut. It’s just not realistic in the least,” she shook her head making the phone bobble slightly.

“Why? Do ye not think girls can be astronauts?” he asked, incredulously. Obviously there were still some people who thought like that, but Jamie and Claire certainly never treated their daughters as if they were any less capable merely because they were girls. He wondered where this idea was coming from.

“Of course not, _silly_ ,” Faith giggled. “Girls can be astronauts, just not Bree. She’s very good at many things,” there was a small catch in her voice as though she was struggling to think of those things but also trying desperately to be kind. Brianna, while lovable, did try the patience of those around her. “But she doesn’t have enough self-control.”

It was true. Bree probably never would be an astronaut, he chuckled. It didn’t make her any less amazing though, nor Faith for being so patient with her sister.

“Weel, whether ye lasses are astronauts or lepidopterists or somethin’ else, I ken ye’ll be amazing.”

“Don’t worry, Murtagh,” she said reassuringly. “I’m sure she won’t actually be an astronaut. Mama says people change careers five to seven times nowadays. Bree could have lots of safer jobs. It’ll be ok.”

“Aye, it will be ok, lass,” He chuckled. “Aye.”


End file.
